Inside the Phillies with MLB.com beat writer Todd Zolecki

Rollins, Hamels and Other Reaction from Clubhouse

Here is what some Phillies said about today’s trades that sent Shane Victorino to Los Angeles and Hunter Pence to San Francisco:

JIMMY ROLLINSHow did you take the news?
Like you take anything. It’s nothing new. I’ve been through it before unfortunately.

But this year has been unexpected?
The results this year? The record?

Usually you’re bringing guys in?
At the end of the year Shane was going to be a free agent anyway, you know? We knew that his time here was over or they were going to work out something in the offseason. The season was going to dictate the length of his time here. Even if we were winning it wasn’t a guarantee he was going to be here. The writing was already on the wall that his tenure here may have been over.

Surprised breaking things up?
You never know what you’re going to do. Surprised? No. I think it would be silly to be surprised, understanding sports and moves that need to be made and when a deal can get done.

Great run. Tough to see Shane go?
Shane was a little brother. He really was. He came over he always wanted to let me know I was his favorite player. I don’t know why. He always wanted to let me know that. I brought him in, let him stay with me when he first came up and got to watch him flourish. His career isn’t over and our run isn’t over. We just got a little break in it.

Short term prognosis?
Obviously, finish out the season. Next year regroup.

Chances of doing that next year?
That will have to be answered next year, wouldn’t it? As Michael Phelps says, my playing does the talking.

What are they going to do at third, left, right?
I have no idea. That’s not my job. We have a GM who makes those decisions and he has a team to put guys in those positions.

Think things are a serious transition here? Like a fork in the road?
No, not really. It’s definitely a transitional time because there are a lot of position that need to be filled, but not as in we’re going in a completely different direction. We’ve just got to change some pieces out and get some new pieces in.

So you don’t see you rebuilding?
No, no, no, no, no. It’s definitely more of a retooling and not a rebuilding.

Why?
There would have to be a few more players to leave for that to happen.

Ruben talk to you about the future before you resigned?
Some things don’t need to be discussed. We have a payroll as such, a fan base as such, expectations as such, those things don’t need to be discussed. You know those things are going to be a priority.

COLE HAMELS
Guess you thought this could happen before you resigned last week?
Oh, of course.

So you’re not like, Oh my God, what’s happening?!
No. I kind of knew about three or four weeks ago that we weren’t in a position to help ourselves To have to count on guys coming off injuries and think they’re just going to put up the types of numbers that they’re used to doing when they’re full healthy, I think that’s kind of an unrealistic goal. You just try to get guys healthy right now and obviously with moving a few guys that are going to help other ball clubs and taking what we can get from those teams and seeing how we can mesh together and see how we can do the last two months and really just try to set up for next season.

Is this how you see it? Setting up for 2013?
Yeah, you’re never going to just count the Phillies out of contention for years. We weren’t able to get it done this year. I know we’re still disappointed in ourselves. We’re going to work toward making improvements, and obviously making it up to the organization and the fans and to ourselves.

Strange isn’t it?
It’s the nature of the business. We’ve been on the other end with getting guys. Every year we’re going to get some new face … in this day and age in baseball you see it a lot. You can’t get accustomed to latching on because it’s a business. It’s a business of winning. There are great guys on this team that can help another team win, so you’re happy for them to just go out and enjoy the game of baseball and play it really well. Obviously, when we play it’s for them not to do well, but …

Think this can turnaround quickly?
Oh, most definitely. We have a good group of core guys. We’ve got some of the best starting pitching. It’s just a matter of keeping guys healthy and taking this as a lesson to go out and play better and stay healthy and give it everything we possibly have because it’s not fun losing. This is kind of the realistic expectations when you’re not winning – things will get taken apart. Hopefully that’ll definitely wake guys up.

CHASE UTLEYSurprised?
“You never really know what can happen during this time. I think you all know that this can be a crazy time of the year, the trade deadline. I don’t think we’ve put ourselves in a very good position at this point, so I’m not totally surprised. I think both Shane and Hunter will help the NL West. I think we all know how important Shane was over the past six years to this club, and I definitely think he’s going to help the Dodgers out. As far as Hunter goes, Hunter, tremendous talent, he’s definitely going to be a force in that lineup.”

What message does this send?
“I think, like I said before, we haven’t put ourselves in a… We haven’t played consistent baseball for three quarters of the season. We still have a quarter of the way to go. At this point, we really can’t change what’s happened in the past. We can only try to continue to build on what we have here and continue to play hard and try to win some games.”

Can this be turned around pretty quickly? Not this year obviously but you guys can get back to what you were doing next year?
“Without a doubt. I think we’ll have a very, very strong team. We haven’t had things go our way this year as far as injuries and things like that are concerned. I don’t think it’s got us down.”

Shane was your teammate for so long. Kinda weird walking in there and not seeing him?
“Yeah, without a doubt. Shane’s been here for a long time. Like I said, (he) was a very big part of this club. It is weird not seeing his face. It’s weird not seeing Hunter. But that’s how baseball works sometimes. This time of year can be a little tricky. But right now we’ve got to continue to focus on our task at hand and still win some games.”

RYAN HOWARDThat’s the business aspect of the game. It is tough because of the relationships that you forge along the way. but it is one of those things that you hear about and hear about it and hear about it. It happens and the shock isn’t there. As a teammate, you are going to miss him. Hearing that voice from across the room. You want the best for him… he’s closer to Vegas, so he’s closer to home. You don’t know what’s going to happen in the off-season in that aspect, he’s closer to his family.

Page turned on ’08?
I mean, I don’t know. I don’t know if you can turn the page now. You have to decide on that before next season. I think there is some left in this chapter until the season is over. I don’t think that you can do that until you get to spring training and get a fresh start and see what you have to run with going into the season.

Eager to see what happens next?
Yeah, it will be interesting to see how we try to go forward and what moves can be made during this off-season. For me, I’m going to be focused on relaxing and healing the legs. I’ll let these guys do their job and make the moves that they have to make. I need to get healthy and come back. When I show up, whatever is there we’ll work with.

Surprised both went?
Little bit, but once again that’s the business aspect of the game. Obviously, we became sellers and tried to make some moves for next year or whatever they are planning on trying to do.

Most important thing for the next two months?
Trying to grind it out. Its easy to shut it down, throw out bats out there and our gloves out there. But you try to grind it out and try to build for next season. Got to finish this season out strong. That’s the thing.

When someone like Shane is part of the nucleus- make it more difficult?
Yeah, its about the relationship that you develop. You understand the business aspect of the game and the team has needs over the season. The relationships that you forge are what’s tough. We were teammates, but we were really good friends.

Difference between ’06 sale and this?
It is, in a sense. Its all part of the game. It is the business aspect of the game. I didn’t even think about it all that much. You always hear the rumors and options. Now, it is the reality of having it sent it that Hunter and HSane are gone. You wish them the best and wish them well. We have to push them forward.

Shane memories.
He came up with a lot of things. He played an intrigal part in the success of this team. He was one of the core members that helped build this team to go on and win. He’ll be greatly missed.

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6 Comments

This may sound weird in a way,but it’ll feels strange seeing Shane and Hunter traded,especially Shane because he not only has been with the Fightins fir 6 yrs,but he was one of the players on the World Series Winning Team in 08.I know the city and it’s fans will always be grateful to him as well as the other members of the 08 team.
Hunter was really liked and I wish that he wasn’t traded. However this is business and
there are times when the budget has to be considered.

Good Luck to both Shane and Hunter.
Thanks Guys
Bill F
Philly Born n Bred. Phillies fan even after I’m dead

This makes me very sad; we had such high hopes at the start of the season, and now it seems as if Amaro is giving up. Not saying this is a fire sale or anything, but to deal off 2 of the best and most beloved players in the franchise for single A, double A and four A players (no offense to Schierholtz, but a guy who has bounced back and forth between AAA and the Majors for six seasons is not a guy you can rely on to win ballgames). These new guys, not one of them is a prospect, they are just average. And while I certainly respect J-Roll, Hamels and Chase and can understand their reticence in sounding critical of the organization, they have got to be disheartened by these moves. The upcoming off-season should be interesting, but I for 1 am not going to hold my breath and hope Amaro makes some big moves; the history is just not there.

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